Should NYLAG Workers Ratify?
NYLAG workers picket — June 30, 2025
On 7/22, A Better NYLAG won a tentative agreement and ended their strike. Workers must now decide whether to ratify it. Voting is open Thursday, 7/31 through Sunday, 8/3.
Why I’m Voting No
By Chris Brown
Members should vote no because they know we deserve a better contract and they believe that with proper planning and preparation our union can once again launch a powerful strike threat and, if need be, go back out on strike—this time with a commitment to leverage our work stoppage to the point that management has no choice but to meet us where we demand, particularly on wage floor, COLA, substantive pre-grievance workload protections, and free speech.
The demand all along—not just for NYLAG but all ALAA shops—has been “we demand a living wage, $70k (what’s outrageous? NYLAG’s wages)”. To see no movement on salary since going out on strike shows me not that management “couldn’t afford it,” as they often claim, but shows me that we must commit to leveraging, with fierce determination, the most powerful tool we have: a labor stoppage.
Members are also deeply concerned about the lack of movement on substantive pre-grievance workload protections. While the five-day strike did bring meaningful gains on post-grievance provisions that help alleviate workload after a grievance is filed, this may not be enough. Many members expressed that their solution to a lack of truly meaningful workload protections and case caps in our next three-year contract would simply be quitting NYLAG. This is surely a win for management who view our overwhelming workloads as a financial benefit: “savings by attrition” as was said in one bargaining session.
Ultimately, this vote comes down to whether you can live with this contract for the next three years and, arguably more importantly, whether you think your coworkers deserve to live with this contract for the next three years. Going back to the table to unwaveringly bargain for what we deserve and going back out on strike may sound daunting, but three more years of non-attorney staff–our most vulnerable staff–making less than a living wage, sub-inflation COLAs, unsustainable workloads, and crackdowns on inside and outside the workplace speech sounds far more daunting. I concede a small part of me is exhausted; exhausted and wondering if I should accept less than what we deserve. But a bigger part of me knows management is counting on that exhaustion.
If there’s one thing I know about NYLAG workers is that we are strong, passionate, and dedicated. I believe that with a revised strategy, one that incorporates what we’ve learned from our first strike, our union can show strength and resolve in telling management we reject this agreement and demand they bargain with us until we win what we deserve.
Why I’m Voting Yes
By Jeanyna Garcia
I can’t think of another place in NYC where a nonprofit receptionist starts at $65,500. As a step 2 paralegal, I will be making around $71k by next year, thanks to the interpretation step. I genuinely don’t know of another time and place where I would be earning that 2-3 years out of college and working at a nonprofit. I have friends who have worked in nonprofits for years and are making about the same salary that I’ll be making under this contract. Though we always deserve to be paid more, I’m hopeful that the salary re-opener can help us maintain dignified and live-able salaries.
One of our main ambitions through this strike campaign was to reduce our active case threshold from 40 to 30. Though we fought for this demand fiercely and ultimately had it lowered to 39, I don’t think we as a shop, by ourselves, can realistically decrease the amount of cases we receive from the city. Until we have political reforms and changes, nonprofits will always be the band-aid solutions to systemic injustice. With the right political conditions, we can utilize the power of sectoral strike to maybe one day see a significant reduction in case caps.
I trust every single person that is on BC. I have seen them organize alongside me since the start of my time here at NYLAG. From helping to create protections for our undocumented workers, to helping me settle into my newfound role as a delegate, BC members have shown me personally that I can count on them. There is no doubt in my mind that they didn’t have my best interest in mind when TAing on Tuesday.
Many who are thinking of voting “No” may be doing it out of disagreement with the procedural aspect of BC’s TA. I agree with how abrupt it felt coming from an adrenaline-fueled high that was striking out in the streets, to suddenly resuming back to work after many expressed willingness to continue striking. However, there is no way for us to turn back time and change the way things unfolded. Every strike campaign always offers lessons of growth that the next BC and CAT can carry when it’s time to bargain again in 2028 or when this contract gets ratified. What is definite is that we, as a union, will never stop stirring things up in the workplace.
Why I’m Voting Yes
By Navruz Baum
After six months of bargaining and one week on strike, NYLAG workers won a record contract. “Record” compared to our previous contracts, and “record” compared to the sector.
On salary, we secured a $15,000 raise for our lowest-paid workers, moving our wage floor from the bottom to second-highest among ALAA’s six largest shops. Our $65,500 wage floor comes up short of our $70k goal in year one of the contract, but we’re at $70k by year three. Attorney starting pay jumped from tied for last to second, and we’ll hit the sectoral goal of $100k for step 5 by year two of the contract. Our 3.5% annual COLA comes up short of our 5% goal, but beats the 2.5% COLA in our last contract and outpaces COLA at other shops.
With our strike, we also won key concessions on workload and free speech. Our new workload provision guarantees 30-day workload relief upon filing a complaint, eliminates the burdensome requirement to compile case lists and update Legal Server before filing, and drastically curbs management’s ability to invoke exceptions. On free speech, we won our first-ever protection for off-the-clock expression, forced management to drop its no-limits carveout for “NYLAG policies,” and beat back their ability to discipline us for political expression they disagree with on our personal social media.
And that’s not all: $5,250 in student loan reimbursement. Two extra weeks of parental leave. Job protections against AI-driven layoffs. An interpretation step. And more.
Now the question is: lock in these wins and move onto the next fight, or reopen this one?
If we couldn’t win certain provisions with a weeklong strike, we’d likely need to strike even longer to get them. But polling and one-on-ones show we likely don’t have a supermajority ready for that, and there’s no clear path to build one. Simply going back to the table without leverage is unlikely to net additional gains, and even risks moving us backward if management uses the opportunity to revert on its commitments. Retro pay, the strike bonus, and the first round of student loan reimbursement are all lump sum payments from NYLAG’s current budget, so delays put them at particular risk.
The fight isn’t over until we’ve eliminated the bosses and dismantled the systems that exploit us and our clients. But supermajorities of the Bargaining Committee voted both to TA and to recommend a yes vote because this is a real victory. Let’s notch it, and keep fighting with grievances, shop-floor action, community campaigns, and an even stronger contract campaign in 2028.
Chris Brown is a tenant attorney, CAT bottomliner, and strike food committee lead.
Jeanyna Garcia is a tenant paralegal, CAT bottomliner, picket programming lead, and CAT pack lead.
Navruz Baum is a tenant paralegal and bargaining committee member.